Pick a spot where the buckthorn is thick and nasty; a place you suspect might look a whole lot better sans the woody weed. Don protective gear. Add gas and oil to the chainsaw and test the stump poison sprayer. Fire up the chainsaw and commence to prepping the buckthorn by cutting it into manageable chunks and poisoning the stumps to taste. Make a pile with dead buckthorn branches and braze it with the red devil until burning brightly. Cut, poison, pile, burn and repeat, until all of the buckthorn in sight has been eradicated. There you have it — Savory Buckthorn!

We have made modest progress this winter at The Springs, working on the left side of the trail clearing buckthorn in the area marked in red below.

On February 18th, I was joined in the “kitchen” by world renowned chef: Andre Buchtá. Nobody piles buckthorn on a fire like Andre! Below are some before and after shots documenting our efforts. I’m trying something new here by juxtaposing the before and after views side by side for easier comparison (click any photo to open the gallery).

This area is between signposts #1 and #2

After

Before

After

Before

After

Stepping back a few yards, the before view

After

Before

After

At dusk, as I tended the fire carefully turning the buckthorn logs until they were done just right, I heard the familiar sound of a sand hill crane and looked up to see the adventurous bird languidly floating overhead.

I took some time off to attend to things on the home front, but the pangs of hunger eventually became so strong that I had to return to The Springs to cook another batch of Savory Buckthorn. Andre again was my right hand, piling brush and tending the fires.